The Shaw family drama is finally getting some attention during Tracker Season 1 Episode 11.
The hour will see Colter team up with his little sister Dory when a grad student goes missing after a house party.
Said student goes to the college Dory works at, and we’ll see the long-awaited reunion between Colter and one of his siblings, whom we’ve only seen in flashbacks.
Little is known about Dory, as she wasn’t a main factor in the flashbacks we saw of the Shaw family. And in the present day, Colter hasn’t spoken about her much, if at all.
We know he’s been avoiding big brother Russell, who seemed desperate to speak with him earlier in the season, but it hasn’t been made clear what his relationship with Dory is like.
Colter keeps to himself, as we’ve seen throughout Tracker Season 1. He isn’t one to date, or go on many social outings. In fact, we’ve seen him turn down social invites more than we’ve seen him engage in any.
And he keeps his family at arm’s length for the most part.
He seemingly has a good relationship with his mother, Mary Dove Shaw, but outside of their interactions in the early part of the season, we haven’t seen the mother-and-son duo at all.
So, do they check in with one another? Does Colter ever visit in between stops? That remains a total mystery.
The same could be said for him and Dory up until now. But some questions about their relationship should be put to rest when they team up for this latest case.
As we’ll see in this hour, Dr. Dory Shaw is a college professor, though her specialty is unknown. Her parents were also professors, so it’s interesting that she followed in their footsteps.
College is a time for exploration and self-discovery; for many, it can be some of the best times of their lives.
The first time you’re out on your own and really feeling like an adult can be exhilarating but, at the same time, anxiety-inducing. The final years of being a teenager and entering your 20s are filled with a lot of interesting challenges, and it’s very easy to get overwhelmed.
Related: 23 TV Episodes To Watch While Planning Your Spring Break
The case of the week here will involve a missing grad student who disappears after a house party. Those around him may believe he just buckled under the pressure that level of schooling can put on a person, but knowing this is Tracker, there’s bound to be a lot more going on.
Colter has never been assigned a straightforward case that is not fraught with twists, turns, and something that catches him at least partially off-guard.
Here, it looks like the case will open the door to a conspiracy on campus. One that involves explicit photos and messages and could ultimately be a factor in what’s happened to the missing student.
So often, when younger people go missing without tangible evidence, many assume the person just needed space and time to get away.
As previously mentioned, being a young adult is complex and can be smothering, but it’s never fair to assume why someone’s gone missing without doing your due diligence.
All season, we’ve seen Colter begin these cases by dealing with authorities or people connected to the victims, disbelieving that something sinister is at play.
Think back to the missing groom case during Tracker Season 1 Episode 8, where the immediate assumption was that the groom got cold feet and just up and left his fiancée mere weeks before they were set to walk down the aisle.
Of course, Colter had to ask the question, and surely he’ll do that here as well, but he’s never one to take the easy way out, especially when those who’ve hired him simply want to find out the truth.
Colter’s presence on Dory’s campus appears to be a coincidence. Still, Colter will take the opportunity to chat with his sister about some long-buried family secrets, and we can only imagine how awkward and emotional those conversations will be.
Tracker has turned the Shaw family drama into a simmering slow burn, dropping a lot of information about the family during Tracker Season 1 Episode 1 and then letting the story fester in the background.
Rarely does Colter take a job that doesn’t have him alluding to his own family during the search, and it’s rather apparent that his father’s death and his brother’s potential involvement have been haunting him for years.
He’s got a lot of unresolved feelings about the night his father died and perhaps deeper questions about who his father was.
He didn’t exactly have what one would consider a typical childhood. Now that he’s fully into adulthood, he’s starting to question things about his past and perhaps even the things he always believed to be true about his family.
Seeing his sister will obviously bring many conflicting emotions to the forefront, and it’ll be interesting to see how the siblings navigate those and her stance on the sins of her family’s past.
Has Dory been speaking to Russell? How does she remember the night her father died?
What kind of relationship does she have with her family now?
There’s a lot to play around with here regarding the dynamic between Colter and Dory, and knowing that we’ll see Russell when Jensen Ackles joins the series during Tracker Season 1 Episode 12 only adds to the intrigue.
Tracker’s decision to bring the Russell siblings together at the end of the season is curious, as the two hours will lead into what will surely be an exciting finale to the first season.
But we still have some time until we get to the finale, and an exciting episode is on the horizon!
There’s a lot to ponder about the Colter and Dory hour, including what dreadful things they may uncover in their campus quest to find the missing student, and how they’ll peel back the layers on their complicated family dynamics.
Family bonding AND secrets potentially being exposed? Sign us up!
What do you think, Tracker fanatics? Are you excited to meet Dory?
How do you think this hour will play out?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below, and come back here right after the episode for the full review.
You can watch Tracker at 9/8c on Sundays on CBS.
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Whitney Evans is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lover of all things TV. Follow her on X.
